Mardi Gras in New Orleans looks very different this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The city cancelled the parades and closed Bourbon and Frenchmen Street, along with other areas that attract large crowds.

That didn’t stop revelers from finding another way to celebrate. Instead, they turned homes into Mardi Gras floats. I found 250 float houses during my Google search this morning. You can see pictures of all of them at nola.com.

The New York Times posted an article with interviews of float house builders, along with pictures of the work to create these beautiful displays. NPR.com has another report with more stunning pictures.

I couldn’t find any details on how long these float houses will be on display. An email from the Jazz Foundation of America stated that the Krewe du Jazz float house. pictured above. will be on display through Saturday, February 27. Most likely, other float houses will be on display through the end of February as well.

Mardi Gras started in 1857 and is celebrated on the last Tuesday before Lent. Next year’s celebration is on March 1. Learn more about the tradition at mardigrasneworleans.com.